By Noe Ortega
With a clean sweep, East Los Angeles College defeated Rio Hondo College in consecutive set wins, 25-19, 25-22, and 25-16 at home on Friday.
This was the Huskies first win in the South-Coast Conference-North play with a record of 1-2.
The Huskies were persistent throughout each set.
After taking the lead, they made it difficult for Rio Hondo to get back in the game
ELAC had moments during the game where the set was their’s to win.
Rio Hondo would gain momentum, but fell short to the Huskies.
“That’s where we struggle. We struggle when we’re up we get a little comfortable, we say ‘ok there’s a lot of game left’ and then we let the opponent back in,” said assistant coach Lisa Fierro.
“Sometimes we get a little stuck because the other team has momentum and it’s hard to bring it back our way regardless of the score.”
Head Coach Elliot Walker said it was important for his players to be consistent and focused when it came to having a lead.
“We have to learn that a timeout is not a party. It’s about understanding. You have to learn what’s next in the game plan and they have to prepare themselves on what the other team is going to do,” said Walker.
In its third set the Huskies showed they wanted to sweep Rio Hondo by going up 21-11 before a timeout was called.
“It was a change from how the season has been going so far,” freshman outside hitter Makkena Ryan said.
“We definitely did so much better, played as a team tonight and we couldn’t be more happy.”
Ryan has 54 sets played, 133 kills, and averages 2.46 kills per set.
This was ELACs first win over Rio Hondo since joining the SCC-North play last year
“Rio Hondo is always a talented team. I think they were aggressive in their comeback and their play. They were relentless,” said Walker.
They never gave up, she’s a great coach (Rio Hondo Head Coach Teddi Esko) and I really enjoyed playing against them.”
ELAC was on a three-game losing streak before Friday’s win. They now sit in the third spot in the SCC-North
The Huskies next game is today, 6 p.m. at Chaffey College in another SCC-North play match.